St Mirren were level for a total of 10 minutes across 120 minutes play against Celtic in yesterday’s Scottish Cup semifinal, nine of which were either side of the fulltime whistle at the end of 90 minutes. That was enough to give Martin O’Neill reason to review strategy for the remainder of the season, but it also allowed the players, fans and coaches to receive a much-needed confidence boost. One which would not have happened had the game ended 2-1.
Perhaps benefiting from a classic Daizen Maeda goal in the opening minute, Celtic were in slick, dominant form in the opening period. When St Mirren keeper Ryan Mullen went down for treatment on 12 minutes, it gave manager Craig McLeish time with his players to readjust the system. Celtic remained dominant throughout the first half, but the League Cup winners were less porous.
Arne Engels pinged a shot off the post, then Yang hung a header back across goal which rebounded off the crossbar (like Larsson’s in Seville, only a few inches higher). With time-added at the end of the first half set to expire, the same player got free in the box and looked set to shoot, but instead backheeled the ball into space. Anthony Ralston had 13 yards to cover but when he connected with the shot, there was no stopping it. It was great vision from the Korean winger.
That looked to be an insurmountable lead, unfortunately, poor defending at two textbook setups put the game into extra time. Kieran Tierney was unable to get a block on Mikael Mandron to prevent the striker burying a header early in the second half, then the same player spun and raced past Benjamin Arther onto a long ball before smashing the equaliser in added time.
An incredible four goals in six minutes during the opening period of extra time settled the tie. Kelechi Iheanacho showed everyone how far ahead he is of any striker playing in Scotland. If he can play 60 minutes each game for the remainder of the season, Celtic will win the league. Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan got confidence-boosting goals, while James Forrest gave the supporters things to discuss on the way out of the stadium.
Should Forrest play when Maeda is through the middle, alternating with Maeda on the wing when Iheanacho plays? Every other combination has been tried, this one should be on the table.
Credit to St Mirren yesterday. Neither of the goalkeepers who played for them have started a top flight game of football. Ryan Mullen (23) made only his second substitute appearance in the Premiership at Celtic Park last week. 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius made his debut in senior football competitions against Celtic on live TV. I hope they stay up and Craig McLeish gets the chance to take control next season.
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I’m not a ‘betting man’ Gedi, but one of those prices is wrong – 1:5 for a Celtic win in 90 minutes and 5:1 for a draw after 90 minutes implies Dumfy have no chance of winning.
There’s money to be made if those prices are correct.
St Stivs
If Neil Lennon won the Cup Final, after I had come to terms with my disappointment at Celtic having lost it, I would be more than happy for him.
Neil Lennon is one of us. I just don’t want him back at Celtic. No hate was involved in the making of this post or any other post about Neil Lennon.
SS- Hate? Really
If we were to lose the Cup Final then there is no manager I would like to lose it to.than NFL.
He gave and suffered so much for us, both physically and mentally. He will always be one of us.
Having said that, I don’t think it would be acceptable to have him back at Parkhead. I certainly would not like to see him back.
HH.
BELMONTBRIAN and TURKEYBHOY
Interesting shout on Thomas Frank. I could get behind that appointment too.
Sadly, he is well behind the favorites at 33/1, with Robbie Keane 6/4, Jens Berthel Askjou 5/2, Roberto Martinez 5/1 and Craig Bellamy 7/1leading the pack.
Robbie Keane’s last game of the season with Ferencvaros is May 18, but he signed a contract extension with them in December, as the Hungarians moved to protect their interests.
Jens Berthel Askou is under contract with Motherwell until 2027.
Roberto Martinez is at the World Cup leading Portugal, who one would expect to go deep in the tournament – perhaps even all of the way to the final, which is July 19 – and his contract is until the 31st.
Craig Bellamy, whose Wales team did not qualify for the World Cup, is under contract until 2028.
Thomas Frank has been out of work since being fired by Spurs in February, after his previous impressive 7-year spell at Brentford. The Spurs situation needs no explaining.
We could desperately use an early appointment to be announced immediately as the season ends.
While there is a relationship between Maloney and Martinez that gives some credence to these links, it seems improbable that we would wait until he is available. Our first UEFA qualifier could technically be before his contract with Portugal even finishes.
Keane, as favorite, probably reflects his relationship with DD as much as his managerial achievements. If Desmond is the ultimate decision maker, as many believe, then we can assume that he turned us down in November while he was “in the middle of his current project”. It follows that Desmond would have known Keane was going to extend his contract with Ferencvaros, and maybe even thought that helped preserve him as an option (with buyout) if the Nancy experiment failed.
Prying Jens Berthel Askou from Motherwell would likely not be difficult, and he is clearly a manager with a rising reputation. However, he has limited experience and his only silverware was a league and cup double in 2020 with Faroe Islands side Torshavn. An impressive spell in Scotland does little to diminish the obvious risks of being pushed into a job that is this big.
Bellamy could presumably be available, but his managerial experience is limited to the Wales national job, and previously working within the Cardiff youth setup or as assistant to Vincent Kompany (incidentally the manager I thought Celtic should have got to replace Ange 🤷♂️). Not enough club experience to be seriously considered IMHO.
It’s really impossible to know what the Celtic board is thinking. It’s not just the state of things this season, but the flux within the board itself, as first PL, then TA and soon BW will leave. It seems hard to imagine that they would want to sanction a managerial appointment without a full cadre of directors being in place to support that along with a new strategy. Who knows, as it is not like they are telling us much!
BLOGGA – a quick refresh and I can confirm those odds, or close – Celtic 2/9, Draw 5/1, and Dumfy 11/1 (all 90 minutes)
From Jobo
*SENTINEL CELTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2025-26*
*RESULTS FROM GAME #53 CELTIC 6 ST MIRREN 2 (MAEDA, RALSTON, IHEANACHO(2), McCOWAN, NYGREN)*
Good evening, friends.
Thank you so much for your support on this latest game. A record breaking 118 voters triggering another donation to charity.
Yesterday we witnessed an incident packed semi final at Hampden where ultimately 8 goals were all scored into the one net. Celtic progress to the Scottish Cup Final despite only winning 1 of the rounds in 90 minutes. Against Auchinleck Talbot. Although arguably we felt a lot better qualifying by 6-2 than we might have done had we held on at 2-1! A funny old game, indeed.
Celtic have now played 53 games, and have won 28, drawn 12 and lost 13. We have scored 96 goals and conceded 62.
The total votes cast for each player (with my own nominations asterisked) are as follows –
Sinisalo*: 15
Ralston*: 76
Arthur: 0
Trusty: 5
Tierney: 1
McGregor: 0
Engels: 11
Nygren: 0
Yang*: 8
Maeda: 81
Tounekti: 0
Forrest: 59
McCowan: 3
Oxlade-Chamberlain: 1
Iheanacho: 92
Saracchi: 2
Murray: 0
Unused substitutes: Adamu, Doohan, Hatate
And so, the POINTS earned by each player for the game against St Mirren are as follows –
25 points: Iheanacho
22 points: Maeda
19 points: Ralston
16 points: Forrest
14 points: Sinisalo
12 points: Engels
11 points: Yang
10 points: Trusty
9 points: McCowan
8 points: Saracchi
7 points each: Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tierney
3 points each: Arthur, McGregor, Murray, Nygren and Tounekti
1 point each: Adamu, Doohan, Hatate
The cumulative points achieved after 53 games played are as follows –
701: Tierney
684: McGregor
680: Scales
502: Nygren
498: Trusty
495: Yang
486: Maeda
478: Hatate
453: Engels
445: Tounekti
383: Forrest
359: McCowan and Schmeichel
310: Donovan
283: Iheanacho
275: Saracchi
244: Araujo
239: Ralston
215: Sinisalo
191: Kenny
163: Bernardo
161: Murray
158: Carter-Vickers
125: Cvancara
121: Oxlade-Chamberlain
83: Arthur
78: Yamada
76: Balikwisha
60: Johnston
43: Adamu
40: Osmand
23: Inamura
19: Idah
18: Doohan
17: Welsh
14: Simpson-Pusey
8: Mvuka
3: Isiguso and McArdle
2: Hale
1: Hayney and Hatton
0: All the other players who’ve not yet made a matchday squad!
Next up, we have the 5 post-split games to determine the League Champions for 2025-26. Celtic are at home to Falkirk next Saturday with a 5.30pm kick off. A 6 goal victory (I know!) would see us top of the league before the other contenders play on the Sunday.
Hail Hail!
Interesting stuff, Gedi.
Those prices still didn’t make sense, but after a bit of digging around I discovered what they call ‘the overround’.
It’s 6.8% in this instance. No wonder the bookie always wins.
Everyday’s a school day.
the Bada Bing on 20th April 2026 9:23 pm
SS- Hate? Really
————-
Yes, I have seen comments and thought, wow, they think that about NFL,
you know, claiming he is an alcoholic, violent, brings it on himself, and tarnished a Celtic legacy by not winning the ten.
Easy to find.
As we now redirect our focus to fighting to retain our SPL crown, I finally sat down and worked out something that has piqued my curiosity for a while…
Were we able to completely expunge the 33 days of Wilfried Nancy’s tenure from history, the top of the SPL would look like this (if my calculations are correct):
CELTIC Played 27, Points 61, Goal Diff +26
HEARTS Played 28, Points 58, Goal Diff +26
HUNS Played 27, Points 54, Goal Diff +28
And we’d still have TWO home games to play against both Hearts and rangers, and thus a really good chance of extending that lead still further.
Thanks Wilf. And those who appointed him to a job for which he was clearly unsuitable.
SS
Read that comment about NFL
I most certainly don’t hate Neil Francis Lennon but there are a number of reasons why I don’t want Neil to come back to Celtic. In all honesty, I can’t fathom why any of our fans would want to see Neil back at the club as manager or a member of the coaching staff.
Saint Stivs on 20th April 2026 11:44 pm
the Bada Bing on 20th April 2026 9:23 pm
SS- Hate? Really
Yes, I have seen comments and thought, wow, they think that about NFL, you know, claiming he is an alcoholic, violent, brings it on himself, and tarnished a Celtic legacy by not winning the ten. Easy to find.
*sorry I asked the question, it was after seeing the post match interview with him, MON, Jim Goodwin and Charlie Mulgrew and knowing that it was him that brought James Forrest through that made me pose the question but as I said NOT as manager more of a youth coach.
Good Mornin Celts – Grand Day To Be A Tim…
Semi-final win and the double well and truly on…
First half of extra time looking like a Brendan Rodgers’ side – now more of that and the double is in the bag…
Tontine Tim @ 1:04 am,
Lenny was head of youth coaching when Tony Mowbray was Manager, when Tony was emptied Lenny was promoted to interim Manager.
He never seemed to have the same passion for that youth role, though he did say TM should be utilising more youth players, so fought their corner…
He does seem to have a gift for improving young midfielders though, if he could take some of our B team talent on loan, like Brownie did, that would be a win-win…
Hail Hail
BLOGGA – yes, interesting stuff. Full disclosure, I’m also not a betting man, but did work with some Ukrainian software development teams that built platforms for the offshore betting companies that have been multiplying over the last 20-years or more.
Those technology platforms are what power the dynamic pricing and bake in the “overround”, more colloquially referred to as the “vig”, which has become a license to prin… yes, you know the rest.
It changed the betting industry as bookies went from never losing, to always winning. Arguably a small and subtle distinction, but a critically important one. Margins are small, but as with many technology powered businesses, betting scales incredibly well, so in a highly competitive market the prices are constantly updated to attract flow. The odds makers are data scientists and computer engineers, with little to no idea about any of the sports or markets that they offer.
The early markets, such as the Scottish Cup final, 5 weeks hence, are built based on sophisticated analysis and probability models, and there is some “inefficiency” which is why the overround is often larger. But, ultimately the software takes over and it’s essentially all about volume.
In days gone by, it would have been possible to catch a bookie not paying attention, but now punters constantly “hit” refresh and watch for price opportunity believing that they got the best available price at the expense of the bookie. It could be a promotion or hook used to generate new accounts, but it is likely more mundane and clinical. That “best price” is valid in the punter’s eyes, but in the context of the bookmakers overall exposure, it was intentionally offered to bring an overweight outcome back in line with the model.
You have to love the bookie that says “if Dunfermline win the cup then we will lose our ass”. It’s just not true any more. Bookies do not manage to possible outcomes, they manage to predictable margins.
Maybe I’ll place a bet on the draw at 5/1knowing that we are extra time specialists 😉
Hibss v Hearts
Huns v Motherwell
Worth a double for both to Draw.
Double whammy if it comes up.
Good morning CQN
Another fine day to be a Celt.
I like Neil Lennon.
Has his positives and his negatives.
Like every human being on earth.
I’m glad he was (contractually) and still is (emotionally) part of the Celtic family.
I don’t want him as our manager.
And he won’t be.
The suggestion which prompted the chat yesterday was specious.
Our only win in 90 minutes in this seasons Scottish cup games was against Auchinleck Talbot…read it last night.
Thomas Frank as manager?
I’d be all for it. Think he’s got what it takes to steady the ship and bring a bit of calm back to things. That said, I just can’t see it happening. Once you’re on the Premier League managerial merry‑go‑round, you tend to stay there and rack up four or five jobs at least.
Come June there’ll be loads of clubs looking around for a new manager and by October and January even more will be panicking and pulling the trigger. Frank doesn’t need the money either, and let’s be honest, pretty much any Premier League club could blow us out of the water on wages probably by five times over.
It’s a nice idea and I’d love to be wrong, but I can’t see him jumping off the gravy train anytime soon.
Good morning all.
Morning J.
Interesting rumour that Thomas Frank is replacing Chris Davies at Birmingham City…
Thought Chris was doing a fine job really, a consolidation year and go again next season…
Mind you my understanding is it was Chris who was really responsible for bankrupting Leicester City and getting them demoted to the third teir of English football… so…
Hail Hail
Anyone else getting a message up asking you to disable your AdBlocker?
I noticed during the post-match discussion on Sunday that MON apologised to Jim Goodwin for not catching up with him after the recent match at Tannadice. It seemed a little awkward.
It’s just crossed my mind that MON was the manager when Goodwin was released by Celtic at 21 years old. He’d been in/around the first team for a couple of years but made just the one appearance.
I wonder if Jim holds a grudge. He was always right up for it when he played for St Mirren against us.
Lovely grooming too.
i think celtic putting hearts tickets on general sale is a mistake.
there will be more than usual being sent to edinburgh addresses.
i think they should have only allowed season ticket holders to buy them first for friends/family then take it from there
re Hearts tickets:
Tickets for this match are only available to supporters with an existing ticketing account registered by Friday, April 3, 2026.
Tickets for this match are on sale online only, priced from:
Adult: £39
Under 16 & 65+: £25
Under 13: £16
Booking fees of £1.50 apply online.
Tickets for this match are only available to supporters with an existing ticketing account registered by Friday, April 3, 2026.
—
well spotted!
That’s really interesting stuff Gedi, thanks.
It would be fascinating to know the inputs/process used to specify the models/algos that set the opening odds and how they then adapt to new information (I’m guessing the latter will be mainly weight of money flows).
Anyway, thanks again. From our chat this non-betting man has learned that whilst close, odds are not probablilties.
EverydaysaschooldayCSC.
An interesting juxtaposition of two longstanding players at the end of their contracts. Who would you rather have in your team as the big matches roll up?
Celtic’s Forrest puts double pursuit before contract talks
“I spoke to the club a couple of times, but the main thing I’ve always said is I’ve been here my full career and I don’t want to play anywhere else.
“The main thing now is helping the team hopefully win the league and we’re in the cup final as well.
“So I’ve made it clear that the main thing is about contributing for the team and then my situation will sort itself out.”
Versus
Tavernier confirms no offer yet of new Rangers contract
Asked if he had been offered a new contract, he told BBC Scotland: “Not as yet.”
Did he think he will still be at Rangers next season? “I don’t know,” he said.
Some good PR management for a change from Celtic, well done Jamesie.
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 21st April 2026 9:54 am
Anyone else getting a message up asking you to disable your AdBlocker?
Yes , last night . Got so bad I gave up . It’s not happened today strangely enough (apart from the usual message which gives me the ‘continue without disabling’ option)but I’m still getting loads of ads I never used to get .
I only come here for the tips on making money from a second income and, of course, the cardiology health tips.
Controversially, fans drive another football trendsetter and ” heavyweight ” from the game.
Controversially, some may say she is just a ” Karen”
Controversially, she justifiedly shoulders the blame for lack of success and investment. Or she is an easy target for entitled fans,
Karen Brady is stepping down as vice chair of West Ham.
Whatever society or fans think of her, she has set the trendsetting standard and built the path for females involved in football.
When she talks about misogyny increasing in football we should listen.
I’m not being complacent, but I don’t see that problem associated with us. Especially at home.
We have some of the most faithful. respected and knowledgeable female fans in the country.
Parkhead is and should always be a welcoming place for females and if we ever witness misogyny we have to call it out.
HH.
Voguepunter.
I am sorry to read of the loss of your brother
I will light a candle for him
God rest him
Hail Hail
My tuppenceworth for the managerial cud-chew
Kevin Muscat is Ange2.0
Graham Arnold x4 time ALeague manager just taken Iraq to World Cup finals.
Must be on the interview lists Shirley?
Starmer finished,
As fit as a butcher’s dug, ….James Forrest 💨💨💨
new article posted.
Greenpinata
Is it being interpreted as misogyny?
Who deems it so?
I know a few eastend hammers,they are most unhappy with how they are run.Anytime talking to them it is same troubles we have,transfers,squad investment etc,much as Karen is there,the likes of owners David sullivan(porn meister) get the main pelters.They are in a precarious position but hopefully without bias:-) spuzz will help them out and go down.
HH